National Security Bureau: police teaches about cyber security in Szczytno

The Summer Cyber Security School opened on Monday at the Police Academy in Szczytno. The participants of the first edition of the workshops mostly include people responsible for IT protection of critical infrastructure. Dariusz Gwizdała the Deputy Head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) participated in the event.

According to the organizers, the trainings will broaden the knowledge of the representatives of operators of critical infrastructure responsible for IT security of facilities and installations that play a key role for the country. The course will also help them to create practical security models for such systems and solutions for cooperation with the state’s administration, the police and other services that fight with cyber crime and cyber terrorism.

In his speech, the Deputy Head of BBN stated that the attacks that had recently took place in Ukraine showed that the threats that not that long ago had been perceived as theoretical were now happening on a daily basis. This begs the questions how would Poland cope if there was an attack on the, e.g. energy or financial system?

Minister Gwizdała commented on the results of the research conducted by the team for Poland’s cyber security, which worked for the BBN last year. He said that in order to ensure the security of IT systems that constitute the so-called nervous system of the state, good practices should be complemented by obligatory solutions, including a set of minimum expectations and procedures adjusted to the specificity of individual sectors of the critical infrastructure. Additionally, the sector regulators that supervise individual industries should develop minimum standards and enforce their observance.

The Deputy Head of BBN reminded that the state was not the only entity responsible for cyber security. The responsibility also lies with individual users and the private sector, especially operators of the critical infrastructure. This is why Poland’s cyber security system should be designed in a way that shows businesses that cooperation with the state is beneficial, so that they perceive spending money on cyber security as an investment, not a needless cost.

Tomasz Zdzikot, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who participated in the inauguration of the 1st Cyber Security Summer School said that this endeavor was aligned with the cyber security strategy adopted by the government. He also stressed that a special role in the development of the personnel and competences would be played by the Police Academy in Szczytno, which had been specializing in this area for the past 20 years.

In Zdzikot’s opinion, because a significant part of the critical infrastructure was owned by private capital the cooperation between the state and all entities and institutions responsible for its maintenance and security was of paramount importance.

“This is why we invited you precisely here and why we are tackling this issue first, we believe this is simply necessary from the point of view of the state security – this is critical,” he said to the participants.

He also announced that the Cyber Security Summer School will have further editions . In October the Academy in Szczytno will also open a course on cyber security. The school is also planning to launch postgraduate studies on combating cyber threats in the banking sector and studies on security of public documents.

The Minister of Digital Affairs Anna Streżyńska said that she was happy that the participants of the Summer School were so diverse. She also stated she believed that this was the beginning of cooperation that will encompass people from various organizations, entities of public administration, businesses, local governments and non-governmental organizations.

According to the minister it was necessary to maintain the cyber security principles and successfully protect against criminals who, as she pointed out, cooperate with one another to be as well informed as possible about the ways they can act.

“We also need to build a cooperation wall that will connect competences and individual perceptions of cyber security that our organizations have,” she stressed.

About 40 people participate in the 1st edition of the Summer Cyber Security School, they are mostly employed at security departments at state owned companies from the sectors of energy supply, fossil fuels, communication and IT networks.

The classes will take place over five days under the motto “Cyber Odyssey – challenges of the 21st century”. The lectures and workshops will be delivered by Polish and foreign experts recruited from, among others, law enforcement agencies, the academia and business. During the workshops the participants will analyze identified instances of cyber attacks and recommendations that increase IT security.

The Summer School was organized by the Police Academy in Szczytno and the Ministry of Cyber Affairs in cooperation with the Government Centre for Security, Polish Security Printing Works and PSE, the Polish power transmission system operator. The event was organized under the patronage of: the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, Head of the National Security Bureau, Minister of Cyber Affairs, Minister of National Defense and the State Attorney.

Critical infrastructure includes physical and cybernetic systems (facilities, appliances or installations) necessary for the minimal functioning of the economy and the state. It encompasses the systems of energy supply, fossil fuels, food and water supply, as well as the following systems: communication, IT networks, financial, public health, transport, rescue and production, storage, safekeeping and usage of chemical and radioactive substances.